Epsom Man Pleads Guilty to Aiding Bank Robbery

February 16, 2010 - CONCORD, NH—United States Attorney John P. Kacavas today announced that Clint Pickering, 24, Epsom, New Hampshire, pleaded guilty in the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire to one count of aiding and abetting a bank robbery in connection with the September 18, 2009 robbery of the Bank of New England, 58 Range Road, Windham, New Hampshire. A sentencing hearing has been scheduled for May 11, 2010. Pickering faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years, but his sentence is likely to be less than that under the advisory federal sentencing guidelines.

Pickering did not dispute the government’s offer of proof that on September 18, 2009, Patrick McKeen entered the Bank of New England in Windham and produced a note demanding money. McKeen was given a sum of money and left the bank. He was observed entering a car registered to Pickering. A few minutes later, law enforcement units from Windham and the New Hampshire State Police began a pursuit of Pickering’s vehicle on Interstate 93. During the pursuit, the vehicle operated by Pickering struck a Windham police officer and caused significant injuries to the officer. During the pursuit, Pickering drove his vehicle at speeds exceeding 90 miles per hour while the vehicle had two flat tires. The pursuit ended in Dracut, Massachusetts, and Pickering was arrested after a foot pursuit by a New Hampshire State Trooper. Pickering resisted arrest and as a result was tasered by the arresting officer. McKeen was also arrested after being captured by an officer from the Salem Police Department.

The Windham Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation of this case. Law enforcement from the Salem Police Department, the New Hampshire State Police, the Massachusetts State Police and the Dracut Police Department assisted in the pursuit and apprehension of Pickering and McKeen.